Why Having a Single Room in College is Actually the Best

Ahhh… it’s that time of year again. The time when you find out if your new college roommate is amazing or horrible. You’ve ignored how they don’t take out the trash, how they leave their dirty clothes all over the floor, and how they always come stumbling in the room at 3 a.m. after a long night of drinking. I, however, have come up with the PERFECT solution: having a single! I had my own room growing up, so my parents told me I was required to have a roommate my freshman year of college. Don’t get me wrong, my roommate and I got along wonderfully freshman year. We never had a fight and she was very easy to live with, but once the year was over and I returned to my own room at home, I realized how much ME time I had been missing. Having grown up as the only kid in my house, I had become so dependent on coming back to my empty room to rest and recover after a long day. The closer my roommate and I got throughout the year, the more we wanted to talk and catch up with each other at the end of the day… But sometimes I just wanted to sit and stare at the wall in a quiet space. I think everyone needs some serious "me time," but a lot of people, especially students, don't know how to stop and take that time when they're constantly with at least one other person. This year, I’m living in a single room, and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. Not only is it my own little sanctuary of quiet and calm, but it also gives me more space to make my room as cute as can be! Everyone deserves their own little sanctuary to do some R & R like mine!

It felt so amazing and fun to be able to design my own room without getting approval from anyone else. Now I'm able to have quiet time with myself every day. Not having to compromise with a roommate about small things makes me so much less stressed and helps me appreciate the time I have with the people I love even more than I did before. If I need to study late, keeping my lights on isn’t a problem, and if I want to go to sleep at 9 PM, turning them off isn’t a problem either. As someone who wasn’t used to sharing a room with someone before college, I’m beyond grateful to have my own room this year! Props to those who prefer living with a roommate, but I just wasn’t made for that.

Lauren Dudley is a sophomore at Southern Methodist University pursuing degrees in Vocal Performance and Psychology with a minor in Musical Theater. She obviously has a pasison for music and theater, but also has passions for poitics, mental health, food, exercising, and much more! This is her first year writing for Hercampus, and she couldn't be more excited! Xoxo